


A Very Little Key

by rowofstars



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, Angst, Comfort, Dark Castle, F/M, Semi-Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 00:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9466685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowofstars/pseuds/rowofstars
Summary: For the January prompt at a-monthly-rumbelling: forbidden room. Belle opens a forbidden room in the Dark Castle, but it's Rumple who has to deal with the consequences.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Super mega thanks to mariequitecontrarie for fixing all my typos and giving this a good polish. You are the best, sweetie! The title is from the quote: “A very little key will open a very heavy door.” by Charles Dickens.

Rumple stood by the end of the bed, staring down at the tattered shirt. The sleeve was ripped now, a product of his impulsive rage. He could fix it with magic and a thought, but he preferred to take it up to his tower and stitch it as he had on so many evenings in the village, with a thin needle and thread he spun himself.

There was the matter of his maid, however. Belle had run out of the room near tears, her face a mix of confusion and hurt that stabbed his soul. He’d done that to her, his rage and his cowardice. He could have told her the truth, but instead he’d shut away the memories and forbade her to open the door. It was the only room in the castle she was forbidden to enter, so of course when he foolishly left the lock undone, she’d let her curiosity get the better of her. It was one of the things he - _liked_ \- about her.

One of many things.

With a sigh, he carefully folded the shirt, minding the torn sleeve, and with a puff of purple smoke sent it to his workroom in the north tower to mend later. He took a slow, deep breath and looked to the door, still open to the hallway. Belle was probably crying in her library, and it _was_ hers because who the hell else was he going to create a library for. He hadn’t been that angry or cruel since she’d come here, not even when she’d almost ruined his plans to trap the Black Fairy. Since that moment in the woods, when he’d spared Robin’s life and she’d throw her arms around his neck, the first touch, first kindness he’d known in decades, she’d become mistress here. He’d given her a room of her own and an armoire full of pretty dresses, and free reign over the grounds.

All except this room.

Rumple slumped onto the bed, sitting heavily on the fluffy mattress. He couldn’t fault her for wondering why when he would do the same thing. They were both a little too impulsive and curious sometimes. Now perhaps he’d shattered their fragile peace, and she would leave him. She’d probably demand it even, order him to break their deal, and if he didn’t she’d spend the rest of her life in his castle avoiding and hating him. She knew the Black Fairy was his mother. She knew he’d once been a spinner, a poor, normal man. She knew more about him than any other living soul. But she didn’t know about his son. The rest seemed unimportant compared to that.

He couldn't help but think that Baelfire would adore Belle if he knew her. She was sweet and kind, adventurous and brave, all the things Bae had been. The realization brought him to tears, and he squeezed his eyes shut as the first one fell, landing on the blue silk of his sleeve and darkening it. Like his soul, he thought, every black action darkening it a bit more.

With Belle around, though, he felt - lighter somehow. She’d brought a light into his life he hadn’t known since Bae was lost. It renewed him and helped him carry on when he thought he’d despaired so long there was no hope anymore. The least he could do now was let her go peacefully, return her to her kingdom richer than when she left, and his life poorer for having lost her. He’d driven her away, just as he had Baelfire.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Belle sniffled, the sound echoing in the high arched space of the library. The fire was quite warm but she shivered again anyway. The flames danced and dipped, but all she could see staring back at her were Rumple’s eyes, hurt and angry. It was all her fault. She should have never gone in that room, but the lock was open and it was like some kind of sign, a breadcrumb to follow, and like so many times before a rash decision had gotten the better of her.

Rumple might even be angry enough to throw her out, cast her into the cold snow and let her fend for herself. She wanted to believe he couldn’t be that cruel, not now that they’ve come so far, but she hadn’t seen him like that since the very early days of her life here. She kept hoping he might open up to her, but maybe they hadn’t come as far as she’d like to believe.

But still she wondered, did he have a child? Did he want a child? Was he planning to steal another baby and raise it as his own? That seemed like a logical reason why he wouldn’t want her in that room, why he wouldn’t want her to know it existed. Because he knew she’d try her damnedest to stop him.

A noise from the stairs startled her and she twisted on the sofa to see the man in question coming up the last step. He seemed hesitant to approach her. His hands were folding and unfolding in front of him, as they often did when he was flustered or nervous. 

She swallowed and shifted on the sofa. “Rumplestiltskin?”

He winced. Rumplestiltskin not Rumple, and no soft, pretty smile. 

“Yes, um,” he said, poking at a loose stone in the floor with his boot. His fingers clenched and he dug his nails into his palms. “I, uh, -”

He shut his eyes and took a breath, and then opened them to meet her questioning gaze. “I am sorry,” he managed to get out, finally. “If I, uh, upset you.”

Belle frowned. An apology, one that sounded sincere even, was the last thing she expected. Her mouth opened, but she didn’t know what to say.

“If you wish to leave the Dark Castle -”

“No!” Belle said suddenly. “No, I - I don’t want to leave.”

Rumple nodded and pressed his lips together. His hands unclenched and he idly brushed the dark wood edge of the sofa. After a moment she shifted over and patted the space beside her. He moved and then sat down, keeping as much space between them as possible.

He licked his lips, eyes darting between her face and the floor, the fireplace and the space between them. Her hand was still resting on the sofa, her palm open and fingers splayed, like she wanted him to take it.

“You, uh, you will stay - then?” he asked, holding his breath while he awaited her answer. 

When she nodded, he exhaled quietly and stared at the fire.

“I promised forever, didn’t I?” she asked, and he glanced at her only a moment before answering with a soft yes.

Belle frowned a bit, and inched her hand closer until her fingers brushed the sleeve of his shirt. She liked the blue silk he was wearing. Usually he was in red or gold or black, but the blue was so different, softer somehow. And it was her favorite color.

The brush of her fingers through the silk on his arm made him shut his eyes. He wanted to reach for her, but he didn’t dare. She deserved better than a monster. Why she agreed to stay he didn’t understand, but if she was still going to be in his castle he could at least give her more space, maybe even expand her room. She need never see him if she didn’t want to.

“So,” she started. “Those things. They were - yours?”

Rumple sighed and shook his head. “My son’s.”

Belle let out a soft oh, and then reached for his hand. Her touch must have startled him because his arm jerked away and he looked at her in shock.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, pulling her hand back into her lap.

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until she finally sighed and turned to face him.

“Where is your son?” she blurted. Then she silently admonished herself and added, “if - if I may ask, that is.”

He gave her a small, half smile, and sighed. “I - lost him. A long, long time ago.”

Another quiet, breathy oh left her lips, and she cautiously put out her hand again. This time he let her take his, frowning at the contrast, her tiny hand so soft and pale against his dark and mottled skin.

“I’m sorry.” She squeezed his hand and swallowed hard, a lump catching in her throat as tears welled up in her eyes. It must have been so hard to lose a child. She could tell that however much time had passed, if he still kept his son’s things he must feel the pain acutely.

“No matter,” he said, eyes still fixed on their joined hands. “I may yet find him one day.”

She frowned. “He’s not -?”

Rumple looked up and realized she was almost crying. Oh. She thought that his son - _oh gods let it not be true._ He needed to believe that Baelfire was alive and well in another realm, waiting to be found.

“No,” he said hoarsely. “No, he’s - just lost.”

Belle exhaled and ran her thumb over his knuckles. “Oh, well that’s - he’s alive then?”

He looked up and smiled again, nodding. “Yes. He, um, he fell.”

“Fell where?” she asked, shifting closer. There was only a small gap between them now where their hands rested on the sofa.

“Through a portal to another world,” he answered, his eyes automatically going to the fire as he recalled the swirling green vortex that took his son. That he should have fallen into as well if not for his own cowardice.

Belle thought for a minute. “Can you - go after him?”

At that he looked at her strangely. His head tilted slightly like he was seeing something new. Then he smiled a real smile, one that crinkled the corners of his eyes.

“Yes,” Rumple said. “At least I hope so. I have - been trying, for some time.”

“Trying to find a way to get to him?”

He nodded again. “It was my fault.” Her fingers tightened over the back of his hand, and in a small moment of bravery, he turned his palm over, letting her thread them through his. 

“I was supposed to go with him,” he explained. Somehow the warmth of her hand in his loosened his tongue and made him want to tell her everything. He needed to be careful, though. Even if he might be able to trust her, there were those who might use her against him.

Belle pulled his hand into her lap, resting it in the folds of her skirt. “Why didn’t you?”

Rumple sighed heavily, and for the first time she saw the full weight of the burden he carried. Not the dark magic that coursed through him or the knowledge of centuries, but the loss of a son that he knew might still be out there, waiting for his papa to find him. Her lip trembled and fresh tears stung her eyes.

“I - was - I -” he stuttered. Her other hand enveloped his, cradled it between hers. 

“I was a coward,” he said finally. “I made a promise to him and I broke it. The only deal I ever broke.”

He looked away as his vision blurred. He could not cry in front of his maid. He was the Dark One. He was -

“You’re not,” she said simply, and he twisted to look at her, frowning and stunned at the same time.

“You’re not,” she repeated. “A monster.”

Oh. He’d said the words out loud.

“A monster wouldn’t keep his child’s things, or search for a way to find him, or - apologize,” she said. “A monster wouldn’t -”

Love, he thought. Monsters weren’t supposed to love. But he did, so very much. His son, his sweet Bae. And maybe - 

“Care,” she finished.

He sighed and nodded. Perhaps in a way she was right. He let his eyes close for a second, his breathing a bit ragged from the swell of raw emotion, and when he opened them he found that she was much closer. He looked down and their legs were touching, her hands still holding his.

“Thank you, Rumple.” And then she smiled. “Will you tell me his name? What was he like?”

He blinked and caught himself smiling again. “Baelfire,” he said, the name almost catching in his throat. “Bae.”

She repeated it and pressed their joined hands to her body.

“He was -” He paused, scrunching up his nose as if deep in thought. “Brave.”

The words came more easily after that. He told her stories of young Baelfire’s antics, long before he’d become the Dark One, and she matched them with tales from her own childhood. It turned out the lady was not so proper after all. 

“I hope -” She paused to meet his eyes, an almost shy smile curving her lips. “I hope I get to meet him someday.”

Rumple nodded again, and leaned back against the sofa, finally allowing his body to relax. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Bae would like to meet her too. How could he not? For she already had a monster smitten.


End file.
